Reading Eagle: Bill Uhrich |
"Reading is a gambling town, always has been," says Mayor Wally Scott of the city's efforts to land a mini-casino. He believes people will stop taking buses to Atlantic City, N.J., and head for a downtown casino.

More than half of Berks County's municipalities have said no to the idea of building a casino.

Last week, Exeter Township supervisors voted against a casino.

According to the state Gaming Control Board, 36 other Berks County municipalities - including Kutztown, Shillington, Wyomissing and West Reading - have prohibited casinos.

On Oct. 30, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law that allows 10 new satellite casinos across the state. The gaming control board will accept sealed bids on Jan. 10 for the right to open what the state is calling a mini-casino.

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Municipalities must opt-out to prevent a developer from proposing a casino for that borough or township.

Berks County communities who are open to a casino, including Reading, have fewer competitors to worry about. There won't be any casinos in Lancaster County. Every Lancaster County municipality there has prohibited them.

"When you have 100 percent - 60 municipalities in unison - saying they prefer not to have this, that is a pretty strong statement," said state Sen. Scott Martin, a Republican who represents part of Lancaster County. "I don't think relying on casino taxes for government revenue is the wise way to do government. That is not the environment we want here in our county."

Reading is actively seeking a casino.

Two weeks ago, city officials met with representatives of Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming, owners of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Dauphin County.

"They wanted to share with us and see how receptive we are. We are very receptive," Reading Mayor Wally Scott said.

Competition is keen

The top bidder gets the first chance to plot out a 15-mile area on the map and the rest of the bidders will go in order from there. Winning bidders would then have six months to come back with an exact location.

The minimum bid is $10.5 million, said Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National.

"We have not made any final decision whether we will participate in the process," Schippers said.

In addition to Reading, the company has looked at as many as 10 other places in and out of Berks, but Schippers doesn't want to tip off competitors by revealing the locations.

"We're doing an in-depth analysis of revenue potential. We're kicking a lot of tires in terms of whether to actually bid, and if we do, where it might be located," Schippers said.

The "mini-casino" would be allowed 300 to 750 slot machines and 30 table games.

"That is larger than many casinos on the Las Vegas strip," Schippers said. "It's about half the size of Pennsylvania's existing casinos which, if you put one within 25 miles (of another), it can have a profound impact on (the original's) operations."

Casino owners may not have had expansion in mind, but they can't ignore the implications more competition will have on current business.

"Our casino could be cannibalized by one of these. We are looking with one eye of defense and one of offense in terms of generating new revenue from a category 4 (mini) casino," Schippers said.

City wants in

Reading's mayor points to an appetite for gambling. Scott noted that the buses to Atlantic City are always full.

"Reading is a gambling town, always has been," Scott said.

In early December, city council unanimously passed a resolution urging the gaming control board to approve a casino in Reading, citing economic development and additional tax revenue as benefits.

"People say it will save them hours of travel time. They can walk to it," Scott said.

"We are not just looking for a casino," he added. "We are looking for someone who wants to become part of the community. We are not looking for Atlantic City where you walk a block away from the strip and you see the poor."

He envisions a casino and restaurant bolstering the economy.

"I know churches are against it," Scott said. "They think it is a vice. A couple of churches have said to me that they don't think it would be good. I say, 'Why don't you ask your parishioners?' "

"A church will say, 'Why don't we find another stream of revenue?' I'm sorry I remember when they ran cash bingo."

Scott said he would welcomes a Penn National casino in the city limits.

"It would be great if Penn National came here," he said. "I understand they run a first-rate operation. The fees they pay would certainly help us. We need it more than the others so we will work harder to get it."

Reading Eagle: Susan L. Angstadt |
Berks County Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach is against a casino in Reading. "When you see a casino come into an impoverished area, it rarely benefits the citizens in that community," he says.

Won't play along

Christian Y. Leinbach, chairman of the Berks County commissioners, said he is opposed to the idea of a casino in Reading.

"A mini-casino is the last thing the city of Reading and the working poor needs," Leinbach said.

Instead, he says, the city needs sustaining jobs and businesses.

"We are seeing growth outside the city but not inside," Leinbach said. "Reading has not had a history of being friendly to business expansion."

He does not believe a casino would attract the needed jobs.

"When you see a casino come into an impoverished area, it rarely benefits the citizens in that community," Leinbach said.

Leinbach opposes the state gambling expansion plan as a whole. He said when the state expands gambling, it negatively impacts the lottery, which funds services for senior citizens.

"I think it is pretty sad when we balance the state budget based on more drinking, more smoking and more gambling," Leinbach said.

Scott said a casino would create jobs and people would come into the city to spend money.

"I don't see the commissioners going out of their way to help us get something," Scott said.